Deus Ex Human Revolution

Deus Ex Human Revolution is a prequel to the original Deus Ex released in 2000 and throws you into a cyberpunk world full of political conspiracies and human augmentation. Deus Ex Human Revolution was a big mystery to me up until its release but managed to completely surprise me and hook me right at the beginning. Starting with one of the best opening credit sequences I have ever seen Deus Ex tells a very engaging story during the year 2027 when human augmentation has taken off and causes much controversy amongst humanity. You play as Adam Jensen who is a security officer for Sarif Industries and he works with his exgirlfriend Megan Reed who is the leading researcher in human augments and is getting ready to reveal a huge breakthrough to the public.

Gameplay

In traditional corporate espionage style Sarif industries is attacked and the scientists are killed while Adam Jensen is left in a broken state only to be saved by having his body heavily augmented. Jensen is then tasked with hunting down the mercenary team that attacked Sarif and find out who ordered the attack. You spend the game globetrotting to four different cities around the world unraveling the mysteries behind the attack. Deus Ex has done an amazing job in creating a fascinating world where you just want to soak up all of the information you can. I often found myself unable to move on from a room until I had hacked every terminal, read every email or book, or watched every television. There is a rich fiction in Deus Ex that is worth searching every nook and cranny of the game to find. The main story may be a little predictable with only a few minor twists but it still manages to introduce compelling characters and make you care about the plot elements.

At its core Deus Ex is a pretty solid first person shooter with some cover mechanics but its main focus is an RPG element that involves putting skill points into the different augmentation abilities. Because of the different abilities there are multiple ways to play through Deus Ex. You can either put points into stealth and hacking and sneaking your way through the game or you can focus on strength and just engage in constant firefights. There is also a speech mechanic in the game where you can try to find out more information by tricking or manipulating other characters in the game and some of this can have a massive effect on the way the story plays out.

Graphics

Deus Ex creates a vibrant and amazing looking world filled with unique character design and manages to make it all look real nice. The character models get a lot of close up time and they all look fantastic. Some of the animation looks a little stiff but it never looks bad throughout the game. The cut scenes are lot better looking and are very cinematic which really gives a tone and sense to the world of Deus Ex. With the heavy gold and black tones the cyberpunk theme is heavily prominent and really gives a unique feel to the game.

Fun Factor

Deus Ex has been one game that I cannot put down since it was released. The combat is highly addicting and is open enough that each time you approach a scenario there is always a different way to take it on. The game offers enough choices that each play through can yield different results and all of them are worth playing through to see. As I said before I had a lot of fun just soaking up the fiction and reading every little bit of text I could find in the game and should be appealing to anyone interested in the story.

Overall

Deus EX Human Revolution has been one of the more entertaining games I have played this year so far. Filled with a gripping story, interesting characters, and addictive game play Deus Ex is a game that would be a worthy addition to any collection. Fans of action or RPG games should find a lot of value in this retail title.

Deus Ex: Invisible War

If you are looking for an alternative to Knights of the Old Republic, or have already gone through it, then you should definitely think about picking up Deus Ex: Invisible War for the Xbox it’s sure to make any fan of the RPG genre happy.

Deus Ex: The Fall

Deus Ex: The Fall is a very ambitious game that pays off in some significant ways but fails in some fairly key areas. While the game might be fun to explore and look at, the actual action of the game just feels clunky and sometimes just plain broken. For hardcore fans looking for just a little taste of some new Deus Ex action, The Fall might be worth checking out but if these issues are enough to keep you away then you are probably right to just wait for the next proper sequel. Deus Ex is an amazing concept for a game and I’m willing to accept this as a stepping stone to a proper sequel but if this is all we ever get then I will be thoroughly disappointed.

Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon

Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon was probably more fun to play than Far Cry 3 proper which is a little disappointing for Far Cry 3. The game has only a little holding it back with some cheap cutscenes and short story length but it makes up for it by giving you all of the same things that Far Cry 3 did in an equal and sometimes better package. The references may be lost on some but there are so many throughout the game that everyone should be able to pick something out with no problem, but what’s more important is that the game is just incredibly fun! You don’t need any knowledge of the Far Cry series to jump into Blood Dragon and honestly aside from the title you would never know they were connected. Rarely do I laugh my way through an entire game but even in the intense action scenes Blood Dragon is still throwing humor out every which way. This is a game I cannot recommend enough, especially for fans of 80’s action movies or anyone who just loves great games.

Borderlands

I was a bit let down by the games lack of attention to the single player element, but was extremely impressed with the cooperative play. All in all Borderlands is a very solid outing that although contains some minor hiccups deserves a definite look in this jam packed holiday season. Be warned though, this game can take up a ton of your time.